The theft or loss of a digital device (valuable) continues to pose a problem, especially for people who are traveling. Going to the washroom, taking an hour away from the office for lunch, traveling by car or airplane, frequenting hotels, are just some of the common tasks people undertake as part of their normal schedules. Items such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, LCD projectors, laptop computers, and desktop computers are just some of the small, but valuable, items that thieves target.
Laptop computers are especially tempting targets for thieves because they are both valuable and portable. More and more laptop computers are being used each year. Millions of laptop computers are in use worldwide and laptop computer sales have been continuously increasing due to lower prices and the availability of wireless networks which make it possible to work almost anywhere. More and more portable computing devices are being introduced to the market.
Correspondingly, the rates of theft of portable computing devices have been increasing year by year. The theft of portable; devices is a major issue that has yet to be appropriately addressed by laptop computer manufacturers or security device companies. A large percentage of total thefts occur in public places on the road and in airports. A smaller but significant percentage of thefts take place from offices.
Current anti-theft solutions and theft-deterrent systems range from simple, passive methods to more complex separation detectors, two-way signaling devices, and motion alarms. Some of the separation detectors have useful features. The notion of a system knowing where the user is in relation to his/her valuable is an important step forward. However, these devices are passive, and situations will often occur where a user is separated from a valuable yet a theft is not occurring (e.g. while the person is visiting a washroom).
Two-way signaling devices extend the capability of monitoring a valuable further by allowing a user to screen signals and get feedback from the valuable. However, these methods are often complex and require too much interaction from the user.
There exists a need for practical theft-deterrent systems. Such systems should ideally: be simple to use, allow users to be mobile; require no interaction when a user is relatively close to the valuable; be at least nearly free from false alarms; not require the user to remember to arm and disarm the system; and protect any proprietary information housed within the valuable.